PEACH + RASPBERRY MUFFINS

It’s been just over a year since I posted my last recipe featuring peaches - the peach and blackberry pie bars and if you haven’t made these yet, do so, especially if you find baking pies stressful - so I figured it was about time to give the popular stone fruit some spotlight. After glancing over my blog and seeing what I already had available in the stone fruit department (the pies bars and a perfect peach and nectarine crisp), I thought I’d make something that would be great for breakfast or brunch. With that, I settled on making peach and raspberry (and pistachio!) muffins and they came out amazing.

This is my 4th consecutive post highlighting summer fruit and I feel like I have Maine and weirdly, the pandemic, to thank for that. Since moving here, I’ve found myself going to the local farmers market just about every week whereas back at home I went to the one in Laguna Beach like, twice a year. I think this is because not only do I go on walks right by the farmers market on Wednesdays, but also because I find myself wanting to support the small, local farms that are definitely taking a hit financially due to the pandemic. Everything that I’ve bought from the farmers market so far has been worth every dollar, from the wild blueberries to the fresh corn to the maple syrup, and I know it’s made my recipes taste even better. Additionally, being able to meet the people in charge of making such great produce/products makes my day and makes me feel like I’m more a part of the community even though it’s so easy to feel alone at this time.

For today’s muffin recipe, I turned to an old standby of mine that I also used for my blueberry lemon muffin post. It’s quite possibly the simplest recipe for a multitude of reasons: 1) The whole thing comes together in about 40 minutes, including the time it takes to peel the peaches and bake the muffins, 2) Besides the small bowl for the fruit and flour, you’ll only need one large bowl to mix the batter together, so clean-up time is a piece of cake and 3) No ingredients need to be brought to room temperature so you can essentially wake up early one morning and immediately get started on breakfast. As for the taste of the muffins itself, each one is filled to the brim with fruit so much so that I guarantee every bite will have a piece of peach and/or raspberry, which I kind of think is a big deal since I’ve had my fair share of muffins with about two blueberries hidden inside. Because the peaches and raspberries are the stars of the recipe, I definitely recommend springing for local or organic fruit, but like I always say, do whatever feels right for you (and your wallet).

Unlike my previous muffin recipes (apple crumb, blueberry lemon and sweet potato chocolate chip ) this was the first time I added nuts, in this case pistachios, to the recipe. It’s no secret that my nut of choice when it comes to baking is pistachios, but if you want to use pecans or walnuts, those would definitely work in this recipe as well. Or, if you’re not a muffin with nuts person, feel free to leave the nuts out completely.

One last note: the easiest way to peel peaches is to submerge them in boiling water (in a Dutch oven or soup pot) for about 30 seconds and then immediately transfer them to ice cold water. After this, you should be able to peel off the skin using your fingers (the more ripe the peach, the easier it’ll come off).

Peach and Raspberry Muffins

Yields 12 standard muffins

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• 3/4 cup sour cream or yogurt (plain or Greek)

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided

• 1 cup peeled and chopped fresh ripe peaches

• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

• 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped

• Turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a 12-cavity muffin tin with cooking spray or butter, or line with cupcake wrappers.

2. In a small bowl, gently combine the peaches and raspberries with the 1 1/2 tbsp. of flour. This is to prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of each muffin. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and melted butter together until incorporated. Add the sour cream/yogurt and egg, and whisk again. Stir in the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the flour, the peaches and raspberries (mixed with the 1 1/2 tbsp. of flour) and pistachios until you can no longer see any dry ingredients. If you want, you can add half of the pistachios to the muffin base and sprinkle on the other half on the top of each muffin. Up to you!

5. Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cavity 3/4 full with batter. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over each muffin top (measure with your heart).

6. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, and then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for another 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The blast of initial heat helps the muffins get their height.

7. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before taking them out. Muffins are best eaten on the day they are baked, but can be enjoyed for 1-2 days after if covered and left at room temperature.

PEACH + BLACKBERRY PIE BARS

Hi. It’s me. The food blogger who has been posting recipes for about a year and a half now and who still hasn’t shared ONE traditional pie recipe yet! I believe I’ve mentioned it before in a previous post, but pies aren’t my strong suit and if someone asked me to make them a pie, I would most likely have a panic attack and then pick one up from Marie Callendars and said I baked it.

When I tell other bakers that I’m nervous of making pies, they’re usually understanding… if you didn’t grow up baking them or at least practice the process over the years, pies can definitely be daunting. There’s the stress of making the dough, from having to worry about your warm hands melting the butter to allowing the dough to chill in the fridge. You have to be proactive when it comes to avoiding a “soggy bottom”, which means figuring out if you need to parbake the crust or not. And then (what I fear the most) is making your pie look beautiful whether it’s with a perfect lattice crust or the cutesy little dough flower or leaf cut-outs that you see bakers doing on Pinterest and Instagram. I am not an arts and crafts kind of person (I can barely cut in a straight line) and therefore the thought of decorating a pie is just not fun to think about. I’m not saying pie is the hardest thing to make! I’m just saying that there is a lot to consider when attempting to bake one.

So, this is why I LOVE making galettes, tarts, and today’s recipe: pie bars. These three categories of desserts are all super forgiving in almost every step along the way and just seem to be much less fussy than when tackling a pie. Since I’ve given you a recipe for a galette and a tart, it’s time to work with the very straightforward and simple recipe of pie bars. Pie bars take everything you would normally find in a pie - a crust, a filling of your choice, and a topping in the form of a crisp or streusel. No difficult lattice work to be found here!

And mark my words, I promise that I will do an apple pie recipe around Thanksgiving time. Apple pie à la mode is up there when it comes to my favorite desserts, so I will definitely work on perfecting a recipe to share with you all.

Since we’re in the midst of stone fruit and berry season, I thought we’d take a fruit from each category and marry them together for these pie bars. I choice to work with yellow peaches and blackberries, but feel free to switch it up to your liking and substitute the stone fruit with apricots, nectarines, plums or pluots, and the berry component with raspberries or blueberries.

Sidenote: I visited the Laguna Beach Farmers Market this past weekend and tried the most amazing stone fruit I’ve come across yet: cherums! It’s a hybrid of cherries and plums and they’re so crunchy and flavorful, and they were the perfect dessert for our beach picnic later that day. Try to get a hold of them at your local farmers market! Picture of them above (along with the pluots that I also bought).

The crust for these pie bars isn’t exactly a typical pie crust recipe, but actually the shortbread crust that I used for my lemon bars. This crust is made with three ingredients (flour, powdered sugar, and melted butter) and comes together in less than 5 minutes. There’s no chilling, no rolling out; all you need is to mix the ingredients together and then press it into the bottom of the baking dish with your hands or a spatula.

As for the filling, you can play around a bit with a couple of things: 1) how much sugar you’ll be adding and 2) what kind of spices you wish to use. If your fruit isn’t exactly at the peak of ripeness, I would suggest adding an additional tablespoon or so of sugar to what I have suggested below in the directions, and if your fruit is perfectly sweet, follow the recipe as written. For the added spices, I stuck to those that are most commonly found in pies, but you can use your favorites whether than means adding only cinnamon, a combo of nutmeg and ginger, or a little bit of each.

Lastly, for the topping, we’ll be using a crisp mixture, which basically means a streusel topping but with old fashioned/rolled oats added. I kept it simple and added only a bit of cinnamon to my mixture but once again, you can add more spices to your liking, but I’d recommend sticking to adding no more than 1 teaspoon of spices combined. I also added chopped pecans for extra crunch and flavor, but adding nuts is totally optional.

Peach and Blackberry Pie Bars

Makes about 9-12 bars, depending on size

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2 medium unpeeled peaches (about 1.5-2 cups), chopped

• 1 (6 oz.) package of blackberries

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

• 1/4 tsp. of ground nutmeg

• Pinch of salt

• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the crisp topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup old-fashioned/rolled oats

• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix together the melted butter, flour and sugar until well incorporated. The dough will be a bit crumbly. Transfer the dough to an ungreased 8x8 baking dish (alternatively, you can line the dish with a piece of parchment paper if you wish to pull the entire baked good out). Using your hands or the back of a spatula, press the dough evenly into the dish.

2. Bake the shortbread crust for about 15-17 minutes, or until the dough has firmed up and is golden. Set aside to cool, but keep the oven on at 350°F.

3. In a large bowl, toss all “filling” ingredients (everything from peaches to vanilla extract) together gently using a spatula. Set aside to allow the fruit to macerate a little.

4. For the crisp topping, add all ingredients except for the chilled butter to a medium bowl. Mix together using a whisk. Add the butter and use your fingertips to work it into the mixture until crumbs form.

5. Pour the fruit filling over the slightly chilled shortbread crust and then evenly sprinkle the crisp topping over the fruit (using a spoon or your hand). Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the crisp topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Allow the pie bars to cool completely before cutting into them. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

CINNAMON-PECAN PEACH & NECTARINE CRISP

Happy (belated) Fourth of July! For the past couple of years, Alex and I have been celebrating America's Independence Day by taking a road trip to Scottsdale, Arizona and staying at my dad's boss's house. We try to visit Scottsdale at least twice a year because the house there is simply amazing and we have the best time when we're there. We relax and BBQ by the pool, go on beautiful hikes on Camelback Mountain when the weather permits it, and go out for dinner and drinks at our favorite restaurants that we don't have back at home (pizza from Pizzeria Bianco is a given). Sadly, we weren't able to venture to the desert this year for the Fourth, but instead we kept it easy in Orange County with family, tons of food, and frosé (not a bad alternative at all). 

Our main meal for the holiday was pretty normal by Fourth of July standards: we feasted on chips and guacamole, hamburger and hotdogs, and freshly cut french fries. It was perfect. As for the dessert, we were all too stuffed to even think about any more food, but I did make the recipe that I giving you today and it was AMAZING when we finally did have a chance to eat it.

I am a huge fan of all stone fruits (nectarines, plums, apricots, peaches, etc.) and just about any dish that involves them, I will happily eat and love. Since I've already given you a recipe for a galette and a cobbler, I thought I would switch it up and share my favorite stone fruit crisp recipe. 

A crisp is a dessert in which fresh fruit is topped with a buttery, streusel-like topping that is baked until browned and the fruit juices are bubbling. One main component of a crisp is that the "streusel" topping contains oats, and it is actually the oats that crisp up when it bakes, hence the name. Sidenote: These days, a crisp and a crumble are pretty much interchangeable when researching recipes, but the main difference is that a crisp has oats in the topping, whereas a crumble doesn't. 

This stone fruit crisp is perfect for any celebration with a crowd due to it's size (made in a 13x9 baking dish), how easy it is to transfer to a party, and how delicious it is when finished with melty vanilla ice cream. When it's hot outside and I'm wearing nothing more than a bathing suit, the last thing I would want to eat is a slice of a heavy chocolate cake... ripe peaches and nectarines sounds perfect to me. 

I chose to use yellow nectarines and yellow peaches for this recipe, but you can use whichever stone fruit looks best at your local grocery store. If you want to use only peaches, or only nectarines, or half apricots and half white peaches, or even add in some blueberries or blackberries - it's totally fine! Yellow peaches and nectarines are my forever favorites and this is why I will be using them today. As long as you get 5 pounds worth of fruit, you're good.

Cinnamon-Pecan Peach and Nectarine Crisp

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 5 lb. of medium peaches and nectarines, about 10 (or any other stone fruit of your choosing)

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2 tbsp. plus 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats

• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 4 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 cup unsalted pecans, chopped

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

• Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

1. To peel the peaches/nectarines: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the fruit for 30-60 seconds. Fish the fruit out with a strainer and immediately place them into an ice bath to stop the cooking. The skins should now come off easily by using your hands or a paring knife.

2. Cut each stone fruit into 1/2" thick slices and toss in a large bowl with the sugar and 2 tbsp. of the all-purpose flour. Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and remaining 1 cup of all-purpose flour. On low speed, gradually add the small pieces of butter. When all has been added, increase speed to medium-high and mix until fully incorporated. You don't want there to be any dry ingredients left unmixed in the bowl. Stir in the chopped pecans.

4. Transfer the peaches and nectarines (and all the leftover juices) into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Evenly sprinkle the oat/pecan topping over the fruit, and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the crisp is bubbling and the topping is a deep golden brown. Let the crisp cool on a wire rack for as long as your stomach will allow you to, or, at least 30 minutes (just don't burn your mouth please!).

5. Top with scoops of vanilla ice cream, and dig in!